Foundation Battle: Skin Prep+Makeup=Dream or Disaster? Pt.2

How to layer skin prep products under foundation for a long and uneventful wear. Time to learn how to STACK!

This series has thoroughly discussed foundation ingredients, what to look for in a makeup, how they wear and how to wear them. Now it is time to focus on the actual layering of skincare and the do’s and do not’s of a proper prep.

I call it STACKING because we are really stacking specific ingredients on top of each other and asking them to get along. We don’t want foundation to slide or break apart, we don’t want the skin to soak up moisture in the foundation and leave dots of pigment or pilling. We don’t want the makeup to dry and crack, we don’t want an extreme oily shine. We want an uneventful, long and “normal” wear to our makeup. This is the whole reason skin prep became a thing, because we wanted to stabilize the wear of our foundation and complexion products.

So, we STACK. We STACK serums, moisturizers and primers under our foundation so that there is a stable base for the pigmented products to sit on and adhere to. The problem is that we don’t always know what gets along and what doesn’t. Although it isn’t an exact science, here are some basic guidelines to follow.

Terri's Favorite Serums: Good Molecules Hyaluronic Acid and Experiment Beauty Super Saturated

TRUTH: Oil and Water don’t mix.

But this doesn’t mean that you cannot use water based and oil-based prep products. You just have to order them correctly. Serums are water-based and “watery” products that need to go directly on bare, clean skin. Water-based products will soak into the skin and do not leave a barrier. They can leave a tack or film on the skin which gives some grab to makeup for application, however they do not sit on the skin the way a “primer” would.

Think of your serums and watery products as layer 1.

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